Brighton’s monthly new music discovery nights at The Hope & Ruin on Queens Road are organised by promoters ‘Hidden Herd Presents’ and are aimed at spotlighting the most exciting emerging artists, ones-to-watch and hidden gems.
They previously announced their Wednesday 3rd May event featuring Febueder, Mylar, Terra Twin and Lily Lyons (tickets HERE) and Wednesday 28th June event featuring Carpark, Hypsoline, DUDE, MY DUDE, Hongza (tickets HERE).
They have now announced two new events in addition to those above. These being on Wednesday 7th June with Kitty Fitz, Vanity Fairy, Phantom Isle and Bekah Bossard, and Wednesday 19th July featuring Ellie Bleach, Trip Westerns, Lei Hope and Baby Gem.
Let’s meet the artists appearing at the 7th June show…..
Kitty Fitz
Kitty Fitz is the alternative pop brainchild of South East London-based producer, engineer and Prima Queen bassist Kitty Drummond. A self-confessed liability, Kitty’s music unites the sound of artists such as Lorde and Caroline Polachek with the wholesome yet chaotic energy of a nightclub’s girls’ bathroom. Kitty intertwines stories of being the antagonist, french exits, emotional vulnerability and double entendres with enchanting cinematic synth-pop melodies and syncopated drums – all produced, written and recorded by herself in a mixture of stubborn independence and auteurism. After releasing a string of singles since last summer that have been backed by John Kennedy on Radio X and more, Kitty recently unveiled her brilliant debut EP, ‘All My Own Stunts’, which is out now on our favourite tastemaker label Sad Club Records.
Listen: linktr.ee/Kittyfitz
Vanity Fairy
Having supported Warmduscher, Katy J Pearson, Audiobooks, Lime Garden, Insecure Men, Let’s Eat Grandma and Girl Ray, the last year has been a bit of a whirlwind for divine disco diva – and recent Moshi Moshi signing – Vanity Fairy. A sparkling starlet of the underground East London scene, Vanity’s debut EP ‘Love From Above’ spins a nostalgia-laden world that plays with kitsch-pop tropes and revels in the hedonistic indulgences of classic disco. But far from being content to ape her bedazzled Studio 54 idols, Fairy adds something new to the mix that is bittersweet, playful and wistful. Thanks to her shimmering vocal falsetto, which has been compared to everyone from Barry Gibb to Kate Bush, and onstage theatrics, the iconic disco darling is earning a reputation as one of the most memerising live performers around. With a new EP set for release and more exciting live news soon to be unveiled, 2023 looks set to be a stunner for the high priestess of underground disco-pop. Vanity Fairy is on a messianic, hedonistic one-woman-mission to spread a simple emotion to audiences everywhere: JOY!
Listen: linktr.ee/VanityFairy
Phantom Isle
Formed in Northampton but residing in East London, Phantom Isle fuse their eclectic array of acid house, disco, post-punk and industrial influences into an original and raw indietronica sound. Over the last few years, they’ve released numerous high-energy and infectious singles, including standout hit ‘Mar V’ which was championed by BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders and appeared on the soundtrack of E4’s ‘Made In Chelsea’. Quickly gaining support in London and the Midlands for their captivating live shows, Phantom Isle have topped the bill at festivals in France and Germany, along with appearing at Liverpool Sound City and The Great Escape Festival. They’ve also supported The Mysterines at The Close Encounter Club and more recently the Regressive Left on their UK tour, as well as performed at Ceremony Festival with the likes of FEET, Lynks, Talk Show and English Teacher. After dropping their vinyl EP ‘Out Of Blue’ last year, the trio are now looking ahead with anticipation and recently released a brand new single called ‘Still Time’, which has already been backed by BBC Music Introducing and more.
Listen: linktr.ee/phantomisle
Bekah Bossard
Born in California and raised in Exeter, Bekah Bossard is an American-British singer-songwriter whose glistening and gut-wrenching songs combine “lyrical depth with hypnotic melodies”. Since the turn of 2023, Bekah has released two spellbinding singles, ‘What You Wanted’ and ‘Four Walls’, which have received solid support from The Line of Best Fit, BBC Music Introducing and Amazing Radio, as well as Atwood Magazine who named Bekah as an “Artist To Watch” describing latest release ‘Four Walls’ as “beautifully intimate and achingly raw”. Looking ahead to the rest of 2023, Bekah will be heading out on their first UK tour with Ten Tonnes, playing dates in London, Bristol, Oxford and Brighton’s Green Door Store.
Listen: linktr.ee/bekahbossard
Advance tickets for this night are £10 + booking fee and are on sale HERE via DICE.
Let’s meet the artists appearing at the 19th July show…..
Ellie Bleach
London-based singer-songwriter Ellie Bleach has a penchant for nostalgia. Raised in the seaside commuter town of Southend, her songs draw from the rotating cast of bizarre, lonely characters that exist within suburbia – crafting an indie-meets-baroque-pop sound that melds witty lyricism with the strangeness of modern life. Taught piano by a pet healer at an early age, a wry, humorous vein runs through her music; weaving confessional songwriting with an old school showmanship that spans light whimsy to grandiose theatricality. Inspired by leading female songwriters of the 90s, from Fiona Apple and PJ Harvey to Alanis Morrissette, Ellie Bleach’s charming facade and razor-sharp satire harbours a biting cynicism that lingers restlessly in the wings. She’s performed with the likes of Kate Nash, Famous, The Orielles and Brad Stank, received airplay from BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens, BBC Radio 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq and Apple Music’s Matt Wilkinson, and appeared on ‘Ones To Watch’ lists from both Dork and Gigwise. She was also handpicked by Black Country, New Road for their own personally curated festival last autumn and followed that with her debut EP, ‘No Elegant Way To Sell Out’, which is out now on brilliant tastemaker label Sad Club Records.
Listen: linktr.ee/elliebleach
Trip Westerns
Trip Westerns are a fast-rising five-piece rock ’n’ roll band formed and based in Brighton. With their “roots comfortably buried in the soil of mid-20th century rock and R&B, intertwined with lashings of surf and psychedelia”, the band revel in the “twangy notes of Ennio Morricone’s spaghetti western soundtracks”. Since their reincarnation as Trip Westerns, the quintet have sold-out Brighton headline shows at The Pipeline and more recently Green Door Store, and have shared stages with the likes of Night Beats, Frankie and the Witch Fingers and Laundromat.
Listen: linktr.ee/tripwesterns
Lei Hope
Lei Hope is a 22-year-old artist from Leeds. Taking inspiration from bedroom pop DIY artists, Lei produces, mixes, and masters his own music and made his dreamy debut EP ‘Autonomous Affection’ in his student room at uni. His musical journey began as a teenager, where he developed his skills as a multi-instrumentalist specialising in guitar, before transitioning into a solo artist. Live, he’s played back-to-back sold-out shows at YES in Manchester with a whole bunch of other exciting emerging artists, such as Phoebe Green, Nell Mescal, Fat Dog and Car Boot Sale, and was recently handpicked by TuneCore out of 1,500 submissions to perform at this year’s Liverpool Sound City as an Apply To Play winner.
Listen: linktr.ee/leihope
Baby Gem
Brighton-based group Baby Gem are five deep-diving musicians that lace poetic and vulnerable existentialism into their hypnotic and cinematic compositions. Once described as “Future Fleetwood Mac” (or “Future Mac”), they naturally channel the timeless songwriting of Nicks and Buckingham alongside poetic punk vibes, empowering lyrics and voyaging guitar riffs. So far, they’ve supported the likes of Helen Ganya and Dana Gavanski and have released two excellent singles in ‘Gypsy Boy’ and ‘Eve Was Framed’.
Listen: linktr.ee/Baby_Gem
Advance tickets for this night are £10 + booking fee and are on sale HERE via DICE.
